Just back from a couple days down in Ngongataha, next to Rotorua. Fished the Waiteti stream mouth. When we arrived, I went down to the mouth with my 10 foot 5 weight rod, and tied on a size 10 Cosseboom. Although generally an Atlantic Salmon fly, back in NS we use it in smaller sizes for trout (it's also very popular in Newfoundland for large brookies, or at least was about 35 years ago!). Anyway, when I was walking down there was some rain coming down and I passed a fellow sitting in his car. He eventually came down and joined me when I started casting. He had been fishing since around 7 am or so (it was now around 11) and he hadn't had a touch. After about a dozen casts I had a good tug, and fish on. Nice 1.7 kg rainbow hen (about 3 lbs 12 oz) was on and after a few acrobatic jumps and some good runs, it was finally in the net and on it's way home for supper (and a few more lunches and suppers as well). I decided to call it enough at that time, as I figured if I stuck around I would blow that "Oh, I can do that pretty much at will" air that was floating around (I'll tell you now, I didn't so much as see a fish in the grocery store after that). When I showed the fellow the fly I was using, he just looked at me and said "I've never seen anything like that before!" (Squirrel tail streamers aren't popular here for some reason, and Cossebooms are unheard of - I'm probably the only person in the country who fishes one at all, let alone with any regularity). Anyway, Genesta (my 6 year old daughter) had a lot of fun tossing a spinner, and we all went up to see the fish hatchery (this supplies much of the trout for the country I believe - NZ has great feeding grounds for trout, but not a lot of good spawning grounds, so while there are some wild fish, a lot of fingerlings are released to augment the population in most fisheries). Anyway, I did see one other fellow walking back to his car after fishing the Ngongataha stream with two nice fish (about a kg each), but those were the only fish seen all weekend barring the hatchery - which had some very neat blue trout - albino rainbows, browns, tiger trout, and brookies - I couldn't find anyone working there to ask where the brookies get released. I know there's a lake near Taupo that has brookies, and there are some in the south Island, and I have an old book from the 1800s that suggests a river near Rotorua had some, but I've never heard of anyone catching any. I must scout it out one day. Apparently there was a tiger trout tournament this weekend in one of the smaller lakes, but I only heard a suggestion about that.

Anyway, it was a good time for all. Nice to be home though.

- Jeff